The more women writers I read, from Margaret Atwood and Octavia Butler to Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Toni Morrison, the less alone I felt, and the more I began to see myself as part of something more.

It wasn't about one woman toiling against the universe. It was about all of us moving together, crying out into some black, inhospitable place that we would not be quiet, we would not go silently, we would not stop speaking, we would not give in.

“You hate everything I am,” Nyx said softly. “But you’re still out here with me. Is that it?” … “Is it that you have to take care of her out there? But out here–” she carefully moved her hands to his neck, lightly, as if by accident. It was freeing, really. She figured they’d all be dead by morning. “Out here I take care of you.”

It’s putting it mildly to say that I have strong opinions about Nyxnissa so Dasheem, the protagonist of Kameron Hurley’s Bel Dame Apocraphya trilogy. In an interview with Liz Bourke Hurley said that ‘at some level, Nyx acknowledges that she’s monstrous. And so do the people around her.’ I have a hard time leaving monstrous ladies alone. Without fail, I want more time with these characters than their stories want to provide. Finding a trilogy where I could spend hours basking in the SFF story of a tough, tired, morally compromised woman was a great literary gift.

Welcome!

Who We Are

Queer lady geek Clare was raised by French wolves in the American South. more? »

Ira is an illustrator and gamer who decided that disagreeing with everyone would be a good way to spend their time on the internet. more? »

By day Jodie is currently living the dream as a bookseller for a major British chain of book shops. She has no desire to go back to working in the real world. more? &raquo

KJ KJ is an underemployed librarian, lifelong reader, and more recently an avid gamer. more? »

Renay writes for Lady Business and B&N. She's the co-host of Fangirl Happy Hour, a pop culture media show that includes a lot yelling about the love lives of fictional characters. Enjoys puns. more? &raquo

Susan is a library assistant who uses her insider access to keep her shelves and to-read list permanently over-flowing. more? »